THE AMBITIOUS project on connecting two ends of the city with a 17-km Shivne to Kharadi Road is set to get delayed as the civic administration is unable to acquire the necessary land.

The construction of the 17-km road from Shivne to Kharadi, cutting across the city, was proposed in 2016 with a target to be completed by mid 2018. A 7-km stretch was proposed from Shivne to Mhatre bridge and the remaining 10 km from Sangambridge to Kharadi. The riverside road exists between the two stretches.

In a reply to a query raised in the general body, the civic administration admitted that it was yet to acquire 44 plots required for the purpose. “We have served notice to the owners of the plot but are yet to acquire them,” it said in a written reply.

The road was to provide direct link from Shivne on Mumbai-Bengaluru bypass to Kharadi on Pune-Ahmednagar Road. Heavy traffic flows from one corner of the city to the other.

The Nagar Road has seen rapid development following the construction of Information Technology (IT) Park in the area, while the Mumbai-Bengaluru bypass gives connectivity to IT Park in Kothrud and Hinjewadi area. Construction of the road was expected to ease the journey and also decongest the city roads.

The PMC was to take up acquisition of land and construction of road in three stages: from Shivne to Mhatre bridge, Mhatre bridge to Sangamwadi and Sangamwadi to Kharadi alongside the Mutha river. The civic body had proposed a 30-metre road in the area, which was merged within the PMC limits a few years ago, and a 24-metre road from the central part of the city.